Written by Carolyn Doyle for customers of
The Dorado Company
and other visitors to the azgem.com website who subscribe.

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Usable Gems... and a little opinion.

Gem Stone Tip

"How do you get your gem stones to stand straight up in the gem box when you send them to me? I can't make even one stand up!"

That was the question I received recently.

For those who have not received a gem order from us, the gem box referred to is a small, clear plastic box with a foam insert used to protect and display gems.

Some dealers use other styles, such as

• a white plastic box with a clear plastic or glass window in the top

• a smaller round plastic box with foam insert, called a gem jar

• a black foam insert in a gem box or jar

but they all serve the same purpose... to protect and display a gem stone.

If you put a gem into the box and press the gem down into the foam, it will just come back up, fall over, and be sitting there looking at you when you try to put the lid on.

The trick is to use gravity, not fight it.

Take the lid off the box and lay it face down.

Now put the gem stone(s) face down inside the lid.

You can even arrange the gems with ease.

To complete the task, place the box on the lid, taking care to secure the box in the lid without moving the gem stones.

Now simply turn the box upright... and the gem stones are all standing up!

Industry News

I've been asked to include more industry news each month, so...

Burma rough is flowing again. The Myanmar (Burma) government has reopened it's Thailand border crossings.

Myanmar has a continuing internal problem with opposition warlords, who smuggle timber and other resources out of the country... (usually by river) to avoid paying a high duty to the government.

Much of the high quality ruby, sapphire, spinel, and jade gem rough is also smuggled to Thailand by local miners and dealers for the same reason.

It seems that every year or two the Myanmar government and troops of one of the warlords have a battle, and the government seals the border to all traffic.

This shuts off the illegal flow of gems as well as other goods.

The latest occurrence was about a year ago, and the Thai gem cutters began experiencing a serious shortage of rough to facet.

The border traffic (and the flow of rough) resumed about two months ago, as the Myanmar government changed their policy once more.

A few years ago several pearl farms were established along the Myanmar coast. These are joint ventures partnering private foreign companies and the socialist government of Myanmar.

Production from these farms are now becoming commercially viable. The need to export these South Seas cultured pearls may have contributed to the change in policy.

I guess it's hard to run a country without trading with your neighbors. 

A Pretty Good Year

Thanks to all of you for a pretty good year at The Dorado Company. Sales are up and we our prices are down as we continue to improve our buying power and sources.

The Jewelry Dealer Program is growing and looks very promising.

A number of you are taking advantage of our Gem Special Offers and helping us grow the number of people visiting our website. It's working better than traditional advertising did.

Most of the major jewelry retailers are reporting 2 to 5 percent increases in sales over last year's holiday season.

Car sales were up, as were sales of new and resale homes. So it's looking like clothing and electronics were the weak spots in sales. 

The economy appears to be doing better than news reports indicate.

Again, thank you for a successful year.

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Jewelry Dealers

We hope all you new dealers are having success and enjoying yourselves. Isn't the jewelry business fun and easy!

For those thinking of becoming a dealer, now is a great time to join the program and jump start your new jewelry business.

The holidays are behind us for now, but there's Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special days just ahead.

There's always a market when you're selling jewelry.

And now it's time for the Tucson Gem Shows. If you're going to be there, send us an email now and lets get together in Tucson.

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Gem Special Offers

Check out the new traffic building feature we're experimenting with. You can buy featured gems at or below our cost.

All you dealers... these featured gems are a great buy. You can increase your profits even more with these gems.

Thank you for a successful year.

Carolyn Doyle

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